Good Enough
by Traye
Summary: Lois Lane shares her doubts with Chloe Sullivan about her new life with Superman


"I talked to Lana yesterday." Chloe yelled across the room at her cousin Lois Lane. Lois had called her over first thing this morning to talk but instead spent the last forty five minutes changing in and out of clothes. Chloe had never known her cousin Lois to be into clothes. Lois was usually a jeans and tee-shirt kind of girl. For work purposes she'd throw on a skirt but usually only if a paycheck was involved. She sometimes dressed up for the occasional date also but only if she really liked the guy. She'd heard her cousin use the phrase 'skirt worthy' on many occasions but assumed it was Lois's way of finding an excuse to wear pants. Today was definitely a skirt day. After a half a dozen outfits she hadn't seen Lois even attempt to try on pants.

Lois poked her head out from the closet slowly and turned to face Chloe with arched eyebrows. "Lana? You talked to Lana?" Lois asked. Her voice cracked a bit when she asked and Chloe knew Lois was nervous.

Chloe and Lois didn't talk about Clark's ex- girlfriend and childhood sweetheart Lana Lang. Not that Lois and Lana didn't like each other, they got along okay on the rare occasions they actually saw each other. They were just a bit too friendly. A little too nice to each other. It was almost as if neither wanted to step on the other's toes and force a conversation. Of course Chloe understood why things were so weird between them, Clark. They were in love with the same man and had done everything humanly possible to avoid speaking to each other about it. Chloe didn't see Lois's problem. Lana was gone and wasn't coming back and even if she did her and Clark could never be together. At least not while Lana had that Kryptonite suit attached to her. That suit should have given Lois peace. It was a sure fire Lana and Clark relationship killer, the ultimate insurance policy. The old Lois would have taken the opportunity to gloat but not this Lois. The closet addicted Lois looked nervous.

"Yeah, she's in LA. She's doing good work with the Isis foundation. She's working on this new project that's going to make it possible for women to…"

Lois cut her off before she could finish her sentence. "Did she read my article? What did she say about Superman?"

Chloe sighed. "She read it." Boy did she read it. Lana had spent a good half hour bitching about Lois and the article. "She said it was well written."

Lois turned back into her closet. "Well written, what the hell does that mean?" She fumbled around in a pile of shoes for a few minutes before she yelled 'Aha'. She emerged from the closet smiling holding a pair of black boots. She sat down next to Chloe on the bed and kicked off the heels she was wearing.

"Lois what's with all the outfits? What are you doing?" Chloe finally asked her cousin annoyed with the Project Runway imitation. The whole thing was driving her crazy. She was acting like a maniac. She'd practically destroyed the whole room, the whole place was flooded in blouses and skirts and the floor was covered in shoes.

Lois held up the boots proudly. "These are Smallville's favorite boots."

Chloe chuckled. "Under the circumstances maybe you should stop calling him Smallville."

Lois looked at Chloe as if she'd asked her to read Kryptonian. "Why?"

"I don't know maybe because he's got a few nicknames already and you don't want to get them confused. Superman, The Man of Steel, Last son of Krypton. Any of these ringing a bell?"

Lois shook her head and pulled on the first of the two boots. "I gave him all of those nicknames in case you forgot and I won't get them confused. Besides Smallville is mine alone."

Chloe laughed. "So you'd actually have a problem if I started calling him Smallville?"

Lois's face straightened up. "Yes," She answered sharply. By her tone Chloe could tell she was serious. She'd never seen her cousin so territorial.

Chloe shrugged. "Fine. Lana didn't like your story."

Lois pulled on the second of the two boots. "Why not?"

"She thinks your parading Clark around like a circus act. She doesn't like the suit. She also said you should have made him wear a mask."

Lois mumbled something unpleasant about Lana needing to mind her own business under her breath before defending herself. "I didn't make the suit. His mom made it and I'm not parading him anywhere. And why would I want to cover up that handsome face with some stupid mask?"

Chloe didn't let up. "She doesn't like the name either. Superman. She likes The Blur. She said she doesn't like that your calling him something new. Everybody liked The Blur."

"Everybody did not like The Blur. Besides did you tell her I named The Blur too? Maybe you should have asked what non Lois related name she wants to call him."

Chloe's eager excitement at their back and forth banter faded a bit when she noticed her cousin wasn't joking like usual. She was stressed.

"What's wrong Lo?"

Lois stood up and walked to the mirror and modeled the boots. "Good or bad?" She asked Chloe. Chloe gave her a quick thumbs up.

"What's on your mind Lois? You aren't really freaked out about Lana are you? She's just nervous for Clark, she cares about him. You have to see how hard this is for her. She left town because being with her made Clark vulnerable. How much must it hurt for her to see your being with him has the opposite effect."

Lois began to shake her head and turned to her cousin with what Chloe could swear was fear in her eyes. "I'm scared Chloe."

"Of what?" Chloe asked. She could count on one hand the number of times she'd heard Lois admit to being scared of anything. Lois had more bravado and self confidence than a bullfighter.

Lois walked back over to Chloe and pulled a hand from her side and shoved it towards her cousin. "He asked me to marry him the other day. The night with the helicopter he proposed."

Clark had recently snagged Lois out of the sky during a helicopter malfunction. Actually he snagged Lois and the helicopter out of the sky. The incident was caught on tape and served as Superman's official unveiling. Lois had written an article about it that was carried by almost every major newspaper in the country.

Chloe's eyes bugged out of her head when she spotted the diamond on her cousin's finger. How could she have missed that? What kind of girl misses an engagement ring? "Really he proposed, was he wearing the suit?"

Lois nodded. "Yes of course he was wearing it the cheater. He knew I couldn't say no to the suit."

"So you said yes." Chloe asked a bit confused by Lois's nervousness and fear. If she said yes then there was no problem was there?

"Of course I said yes, I'm not crazy. I love Smallville. It's just he's Superman now Chloe. Superman. Think about that. Superman and Lois Lane?" She began to shake her head. "It doesn't even sound right."

Chloe jumped to her cousin's aid. "He's Clark Kent, he'll always be Clark Kent."

Lois didn't look convinced. "I didn't realize how big this whole Superman thing would get. I mean I figured I'd bag a couple of headlines and the whole thing would blow over but it's not stopping Chloe. He's everywhere. Every time I turn on a TV or a radio there he is. It's starting to get crazy. I keep having to fend off interviewers. And people keep asking me questions it's too much I think."

Chloe's cool demeanor disappeared. "What did you think was going to happen Lo? He's out in the world for everybody to see now. When we look at him we see Clark Kent, a farm boy with a heart of gold. When other people see him they see a God. An invulnerable God complete with fire shooting out of his eyes and flying. People are just freaked out. It'll calm down."

Lois nodded. "That's just what Oliver said."

Chloe's eyes lit up. "You saw Oliver?"

"Oh get a room already we're talking about me and my super boyfriend not you and the green billionaire."

"Fiancée, he's your fiancée now." Chloe corrected her.

Lois turned to Chloe with a frown. "I'm gonna be somebody's wife Chloe. I didn't want to get married until I was at least forty five."

Forty five? Chloe thought to herself. Who willingly waits until they're forty five to get married? "If your scared maybe you shouldn't have accepted."

Lois looked at the ring on her hand and shook her head. "And do what wait for somebody better to come along? No Clark is the one for me I just don't know if I'm the one for him you know."

"No I don't know. Where is all this doubt coming from?" Chloe asked.

"You don't get it. He flew me around the city the other night. He held me in his arms and flew me around the city. It was like a ten on the romance scale. Then when he dropped me off he got down on his knee and proposed. How am I supposed to keep up with stuff like that?"

Chloe looked around the room at the mess then back at Lois. "Is that what this is about? Is that why it took you forty five minutes to get dressed today?"

Lois shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe I want to look nice for him. Maybe I want him to remember why he loves me."

Chloe laughed out loud. "Lois Clark never forgets anything. Super brain remember. If he proposed to you he clearly loves you for who you are. So all you have to do is be a pain in the ass like you always are and he'll be putty in your hands."

Lois finally cracked a smile. "Thanks cuz."

Chloe winked at her cousin. "Don't mention it. We're family remember. Anything anytime."

Lois's face grew into a devious smile. "Anything huh. I do need you to let somebody know about my engagement."

Chloe raised her hands in mock defense. "Oh no, I'm not telling the General. You're on your own with that one."

Lois's smile grew wider. "Not him. I need you to call your friend back in LA and tell her the good news."

Chloe smiled wider. That's the Lois Lane she'd come to visit.


End file.
